---
typeId: req
recordId: benac-author-001
fields:
  title: Package validation semantics
  statement: >-
    Benac shall define package validation semantics for authoring tools, Host APIs,
    CLIs, PWAs, and Agent APIs.

    Package validation shall distinguish package content validity from Local Policy
    approval, capability grants, artifact availability for later operation phases,
    resource availability for later operation phases, and whether the current Station
    can mediate an operation.

    Package validation shall verify package document schema conformance, package schema
    ruleset conformance, schema reference resolution, package interface declarations,
    descriptor config schema binding, request schema binding, output schema binding,
    interface contract binding, artifact references, artifact CID verification where
    artifacts are present, declared capabilities, fixture schema conformance,
    documentation references, unknown required fields, evidence behavior declarations,
    effect behavior declarations, and operation-phase requirement declarations.

    Package validation shall identify the validation context used: package-document-only,
    Package Bundle, imported Station state, or another explicitly defined package
    distribution context.

    Validation checks that require bundle, artifact, fixture, claim, or imported-state
    context shall not be reported as passed when that context is absent.

    A package shall not fail content validation solely because a capability required
    only for approval, fixture execution, invocation, package-requested effects,
    retrieval, storage, or compute has not been granted.

    A package shall not fail content validation solely because an artifact required only
    for approval, fixture execution, invocation, package-requested effects, retrieval,
    storage, or compute is unavailable.

    A package shall not fail content validation solely because the current Station
    cannot currently mediate an operation requested by a package interface.

    Package validation shall produce a stable machine-readable validation report.
  rationale: >-
    Package authors, agents, and independent implementations need the same answer to
    whether package content is structurally valid. Operation eligibility is separate and
    depends on Local Policy, artifacts, resources, and Station state.
  verification: >-
    The same valid and invalid Package Bundles produce equivalent validation pass/fail
    results and diagnostic records across conforming implementations. Verification
    distinguishes package-document-only validation from Package Bundle validation.
    Verification proves that missing invocation-only grants or artifacts do not change
    package content validity, while malformed package documents and unresolved required
    schema references still fail validation.
  testable: true
  status: draft
  area: BENAC-AUTHOR
  sourceDocument: user-requested schema-first requirements cleanup
  sourceVersion: 2026-05-06
  sourceSections:
    - Package authoring
  order: 87.09
---
